MGM and 20th Century Fox have announced a few more 50s Westerns for their MGM Limited Edition Collection. George Montgomery and Bel-Air Productions feature prominently in this batch. While it’s terrific to have these pictures available, most of the transfers thus far have been full-frame rather than the 1.85 ratio that was becoming standard (and still is today) — and that make good use of our new widescreen TVs.

Robbers’ Roost (1955, above) stars George Montgomery, Richard Boone, Bruce Bennett, Warren Stevens (who passed away a week or so ago) and Peter Graves. Based on a Zane Grey novel, it was directed by Sidney Salkow. Montgomery’s Westerns from the latter part of the 50s are a mixed bag. This one isn’t one of his best — I’d recommend Masterson Of Kansas (1954) and Black Patch (1957). His hat in this one is really, really cool.

Tomahawk Trail (1957) puts Chuck Conners in a Bel-Air picture directed by Lesley Selander. This was one of Harry Dean Stanton’s first films.

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Last year I had a long e-mail discussion with a rep from Allied-Vaughn, which manufactures the MGM Limited Collection discs, about the open matte transfers for their (mostly) 1950s titles. The specific title under discussion was Rebel in Town and I had contacted him in advance of its DVD release to complain about the open matte transfer of a film that played in theaters in 1:85. He conveyed the information to the people at MGM and then replied they had searched for a 1:85 master but couldn’t find one, so open matte it would remain. In other words, unlike the Warner Archive Collection or Sony/Columbia Classics, which will remaster a film to make sure it’s released in its proper aspect ratio, MGM will hand over to Allied-Vaughn whatever is on the shelf with the advisory before the movie starts that they used the “best available material” (or words to that effect) as their excuse. It’s a miracle that Fort Bowie was released in 1:85 but I’m sure it’s only because for some unknown reason they actually already had a widescreen video master available. Nonetheless, I am especially looking forward to War Drums (even open matte) for obvious (Ben Johnson!) reasons. Plus I get a retro kick out of its bizarrely inconsistent treatment of the female lead, beautiful, tempestuous Joan Taylor. She is abducted by hunky, body-shaved Lex Barker, the world’s most Caucasian Indian ever, who treats her like she’s his favorite new piece of livestock — but after turning down a trade proposal from Johnson (rifle for girl!) he decides to train Taylor to be a female warrior and marries her! Love conquers all or something. Reginald LeBorg didn’t think much of this movie, apparently; in a book of interviews about his films he barely has a word about it.

P.S. Sorry, I guess I should have included a spoiler warning for the above — but actually the Barker-Taylor marriage in War Drums takes place fairly quickly; the rest of the story has to do with the breakdown of relations between the local white people, the authorities, and the Apaches. Barker plays Mangas Coloradas, who was a real-life leader of the Apaches, and there actually are scenes in the film based (loosely) on historical events.

Susan Cummings in Tomahawk Trail is offered a calvary trooper’s uniform in order to get out of her dirty dress by Chuck Conners but doesn’t offer the Indian princess the same courtesy of putting on a clean calvary trooper’s uniform. Susan readily accepts putting on men’s pants and tall riding boots.; the pants of course fits her like stretch stirrup ski pants or ” glove ” . Susan is now a sexy cross-dresser and is accosted by a young trooper who can’t resist her feminine form being displayed so emphatically. She kills him and Chuck Conners orders the dead trooper’s body to be discarded like it was a piece of trash. The dead trooper was only acting naturally towards a seductive woman. Chuck Connors now can’t keep his hands off of her as she wears soldier’s skin tight unifm , especially the r